This past week we were on our fall break. FIE's gift to us before a hectic second half of the semester. (at least it will be for me) My roommates and I spent those 9 days of freedom to do a little of exploring outside of the UK, and here is some of the aftermath. --this might get kind of long--just warning you. I ramble.
FRANCE -- Nice and Cannes
Landing in Nice, we unexpectedly went back into summer which was nice, but I was also wearing a dark brown sweater and jeans so...yeah. I didn't really know anything about Nice, what was there, what to do, etc I was just there to be there with my friends. IT IS STUNNING. We all know that the beach is my happy place so I could have sat by the water and people watched all day. Nice is filled with tiny shops hidden in side streets, has a view (after going up so many steps) that is incredible, the palm trees threw me off a bit but they were cool too, and the mountains were great neighbors. (I finally made it to the mountains dad <3 ) And I got gelato that actually had pieces of macaroons in it--therefore I loved Nice.
Now Cannes (pronounced 'can' not 'ken' or 'cans'--we know this now) Cannes is a different story. For those of you who don't know (but should) French Kiss was partly filmed in Cannes. So to answer your question, yes I fangirled. I fangirled hard. Similar to Nice, it had a great view with the mountains and the beach. There were way fancier shops and a lot more shopping in general and hotels. Way more of a beach-tourist place than Nice in my opinion. But let's get back to French Kiss. I found every single filming location and was super annoying about it I am sure, but my roommates put up with me and I appreciate them.
ITALY -- Rome and Florence
ROME. I. Love. Rome. My roommates didn't seem to like Rome as much as they liked Florence (which I also love), but I could have spent way more than two days in Rome. I could have spent the whole week in Rome to be honest. The day we arrived, we woke up at 4am to catch our flight and then we continued to explore and walk 12 miles by 5. I got terrible blisters but it was worth it. At first I was like "yeah okay, it's a city--pretty cool" and then we got to the ruins and I was at a complete loss for words. SO BEAUTIFUL. For me, it was the first time I had seen a place that felt genuinely historical and preserved and worth all the hype. Also side note, I made my roommates find the mouth of truth which is featured in Roman Holiday (: another fangirl moment, but a little more sentimental knowing Audrey Hepburn had been there all those years ago. We went to Vatican city, no we did not see the Pope, but we did see the Sistine Chapel and wow. While all of the usually tourist sites 100% made the trip, I wish I had time to find some of Rome's hidden gems. Maybe next time.
Florence, again, didn't know what to expect. Simply from the walk from the train station to the Airbnb I was at holy crap status. The Duomo, the streets, the gelato (it had it twice every day not kidding. and in Rome). We ran into some friends we know from London which was nice, and we had dinner with some of them one night--at a place that had heated floors outside. How does that even happen--Unlike Rome, we took our time and slowly explored the city which was a nice breather. We saw the David statue which I was not expected to be that inspirational. We turned the corner in the museum and there it was, standing in the spotlight. It really is incredible. In one of the churches I lit a candle for my dad which made the city a little more special for me. The best two parts however.. first, after going up a very steep hill and again SO. MANY. STAIRS. we came upon the most jaw dropping view of the entire city. (and the realization that I am so out of shape) The sun was setting, it was quiet, the church bells were going off--I could have stayed up there for hours just staring at the city and the mountains behind it. Second best thing, on the way down all those stairs we saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen (not including grand haven sunsets). Looking back at my pictures I still don't think it's real. Long story not so short, I love Italy and I will be going back--don't know when, but it's happening.
BUDAPEST
I think my roommates would agree with me that Budapest was the most important and meaningful place we went. Our roommate Marissa is Jewish and with Budapest is a big Jewish town and having a lot of history from WWII, we all got to experience a side of the city in a more personal way that a lot of people probably don't get to. Sitting on a bench in front of the shoes on the Danube Bank, representing those who were forced to stand on the edge while they were shot in the head and their bodies fell into the river, Marissa sang a prayer in hebrew. Listening to her while watching other tourists looking at the memorial was emotional and real in a sense that it wasn't just a site to see. It was a place to remember people's families and pasts that are still affected by those events today. We also go to tour the largest synagogue in the world and learn more about the ghettos and history of the haulocost specific to Budapest. That night we joined Marissa in going to Temple, which was one of the coolest experiences I have had. 45 minutes of soaking in a different culture, a different religion, and appreciating and learning about our friend's beliefs. It was amazing and I think made our time there incredibly special. We of course did other touristy things including the Fisherman's Bastion, Parliament, St. Stephen's Basilica, Vajdahunyad Castle, and some caves...I have a story about those caves and it's lengthy so you may scroll down if you'd like.
The last time I went into a cave, it was surreal. There was a lake, we got in a boat, the water was crystal clear, it was super cool. WELL. These caves were not that by any means. These caves had a theme--Dracula. Turns out theses caves, or the 'labyrinth', was were the real Dracula (yes he was real) was imprisoned, which to me is still cool so I was excited. We get down there and there are wax figures behind cages and opera music playing. The first few turns were for some reason explaining an opera accompanied with opera music (which is terrifying in a cave for one) and many many wax figures. Then we get to a fork in the road where if you go left you continue as normal, but if you go right it is an area of complete darkness. A sign outside it mentioned people seeing paranormal beings, meeting themselves, etc so we were like NO WAY. So we continued left..until these kids and their mom run out of the dark path and tell us that there is nothing in there, you follow a rope, and it is a super cool experience. So all 4 of us, who hate scry things, decide to just do it. Holding onto each other and the rope we very very slowly made our way. It was so dark we literally could not tell if our eyes were open or closed. After about 3 minutes we slightly started panicking--we could not see a thing, it was taking forever, it's terrifying. We turn the corner and behind bars there are two children statues painted in fluorescent blue pain and white glowing eyes. We screamed so loud I am curious as to how many people down there heard us..the phone flashlight went on and we sprinted out of there. WHO DOES THAT. We all pretty much peed our pants. After that we finally found the dracula stuff which was interesting, until the cave was filled with smoke and blue light and you couldn't see 2 inches in front of your face. By that point we were all on edge, freaking out, definitely not a calm experience. Happy Halloween to us.
Overall, Budapest was amazing. $1 was like 208 HUF so our meals were like $6 and that was fantastic, but slightly terrifying when the bill comes out as like 20,000 HUF. Another unreal, beautiful city. Especially because it wasn't summer there like France and Italy. It was crisp and cold and the leaves were yellow and orange--the woods behind the castle felt like walking through Michigan in the fall.
UP NEXT
Back in London and back to work. My internship starts this week (tomorrow actually) and they are filming a music video--fun first day for me(: For those who don't know, my internship is with a small theater company which is just starting to produce a new musical. So I will be able to help with all different parts of production as well as planning the tour for the show. Should be fun! Halloween isn't really a big thing here so after this week I am expecting a Christmas explosion and I am ready for it. Yes I'm listening to christmas music while writing this.
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